Increasing Adoption of High-Brightness LEDs in Lighting Applications

High-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB LEDs) have demonstrated dramatic improvements in performance in recent years, as well as significant cost reduction, such that they are undergoing a period of rapid market growth in a variety of niche and general lighting applications.

In 2007 the worldwide market for HB LEDs used in lighting applications reached $337 million, up from $205 million in 2006. Although the majority of lighting applications continued to use colored (red, green and blue) LEDs, white LEDs accounted for 48% of the market, and this percentage will grow as LEDs achieve greater penetration of the general illumination market.

A recently released report by Strategies Unlimited entitled The Market for High-Brightness LEDs in Lighting: Application Analysis and Forecast -- 2008 provides a detailed assessment of the current market and future growth prospects for the use of HB LEDs in lighting. The report analyzes the market structure for lighting and the drivers that will enable HB LED technology to penetrate the lighting market, as well as the barriers to market growth. It also provides detailed analysis and quantitative market forecasts for 12 LED lighting applications through 2012.

Through 2007, HB LED illumination applications have included niche markets such as architectural lighting, channel letter signs, accent and decorative lighting, and entertainment lighting, many of which use red, green, and blue LEDs. In addition, however, white LEDs have begun to capture a strong market position in selected applications such as consumer portable lighting (e.g. flashlights, headlamps) and machine vision, and more recently have begun to be used on a limited basis in applications such as retail display lighting, commercial and industrial lighting, and outdoor area lighting.

As the LED lighting market grows beyond single color and color-changing applications into general illumination applications such as residential, commercial and off-grid applications, and ultimately into outdoor area applications, it is forecast to reach $1.65 billion in 2012. By then it will only be the beginning for the ultimate replacement of conventional light sources, including high-efficiency fluorescent and HID lamps. However, many challenges face the LED industry to accomplish that goal, all of which are discussed in the report.

Founded in 1979, Strategies Unlimited specializes in market research and strategic consulting directed at the optoelectronics and compound semiconductor industries. It has published reports on LED markets and technology since 1994, and it established the first annual industry conference on HB LEDs, known as Strategies in Light, in 2000. The company, based in Mountain View, California, is a research unit of PennWell Corporation.

PennWell Corporation, founded in 1910, is a highly diversified media and information company providing authoritative publications, conferences and exhibitions, databases, information products and Internet-based services to strategic markets worldwide. The company publishes over 45 periodicals, including: LEDs Magazine, Laser Focus World, Vision Systems Design, Lightwave, and Solid State Technology. Its headquarters are in Nashua, NH, and Tulsa, OK, with remote offices and partners located around the globe.